by Zack Finley
Joel and Mike volunteered to secure the two roving guards. They and Allie would then flashbang Grady’s team cabins. Once they had the five men in custody, they’d sweep the Jersey Girl and Cumberland to encourage all the refugees to gather in the galley.
Craig was responsible for Grady. Ben had the wheelhouse, and Kurt would lock the doors to the engine room.
Tom, Jules, and I would keep peace in the galley and moderate the backlash from our actions.
The hard part was pulling this off without anyone dying or receiving a serious injury, including any of Grady's men. If there turned out to be an innocent reason for the mystery, they could be powerful allies.
We agreed to strike just before the next meal time. This required the early takedown of Grady's roving guards. After that, there was no going back.
My team readied for the next move.
Joel and Mike began stalking their prey. The guard's capture triggered the next phase. I knew Allie was monitoring the doors to Grady's team berths and Kurt had already locked the engine room.
All while I tried to engage in light conversation in the galley. The flashbangs would initiate the action in the galley. Jules was as clueless as the rest. While he knew we were planning something, I kept the details from him. Ignorance would give him some cover.
Tom hovered near Craig, ready to assist in securing Grady.
My step faltered when I heard Joel radio "one." We were committed. I weaved through the packed galley to lean against one wall, opposite of where Tom and Craig were. I nodded as people talked to me, not really hearing what they said.
"Two," Mike radioed. Now for the countdown.
Tom was a great actor. After this morning's clinic, he had quite a following. Lois was keeping the children busy drawing on printer paper. They used colored markers that Tom found for them in the Cumberland's office.
Most people now were wearing some type of clothing, only a few still sported sheet togas or blanket wraps. The galley was nearly too hot for me, but I was in the minority.
At first, I expected the blasts at any time. As the minutes trickled by, I worried they ran into trouble. The silence spoke volumes. Even Tom looked uneasy.
I began counting heads. Jules looked toward me and started walking my way, but I shook him off. That caused him to look around in alarm. Just what we didn't need.
When the two blasts came, it was almost anticlimactic. Craig and Tom had Grady disarmed and zip tied in moments.
I shouted, "Everyone remain in your seats." Tom scurried to the door, his rifle at the ready. I hoped no one would charge him because I knew he wouldn't fire. Neither would I. We were all aware there were too many innocents to shoot.
"What blew up?" someone shouted. "What is going on?" "Why are you waving guns around?"
"All good questions," I bellowed. "Once everyone gets here, we will answer them. Please sit down and don't make Tom nervous." I noticed Juanita had grabbed a large butcher's knife and several others were touching their pistols. Most everyone else left their weapons behind to take showers and clean up.
"What the hell are you doing, Jeremy. These are my friends," Andy shouted, jumping up and moving toward me.
"Andy, I need you to stand down. I'll answer everyone's questions when the others get here," I said.
"You'll answer questions now," he demanded, face red, hands clenched by his side. Others in the group were beginning to react, to come to his defense. Things were starting to get ugly when Joel and Mike pushed John and Joe and five zip tied men into the galley, disrupting the confrontation, at least temporarily. That wouldn't last long since the newcomers looked pissed. John and Joe went to stand by Juanita in a protective stance.
One of the captives had a cut above his eye, complete with a thin streamer of blood running down his face and dripping off his chin. Another had a bloody nose and a bruise building on one side of his face. Three kept shaking their heads and acting like they barely remembered how to walk.
People got up and helped the disoriented men sit down. Lois marched to the bleeding captive and put pressure on his wound, daring us to stop her.
Everyone in the room looked first at the newcomers and then at me.
It was enough to make me wish we'd done this in the dead of night.
"What have you done to Sgt. Grady's men?" Andy demanded. "Have you lost your mind?"
"Their story doesn't add up," I said. "And I don't have the manpower to monitor them and run this boat, too. They act like a cohesive military force, and I can't risk my people hoping they wear white hats. But they are why we are at this crossroads. We've come too far and paid too high a price to risk it. I regret our tactics, but it was the only way we could isolate them from the main group without serious risk."
"What do you mean?" Andy demanded.
"I'm confident Grady and his team could have broken you out of that compound at any time. They are well-disciplined trained soldiers and outclassed those thugs by a mile," I said. "Why didn't they? We've asked most of those here about Grady and his men, and all we've learned is they are from Oklahoma and joined your group when it was under attack. I've also heard that they are good in a fight and pull their weight. Most everyone here has a story, these guys don't."
Andy looked at Grady and then back at me, by then Jules was at his side whispering in his ear. I could see Andy didn't agree with Jules, but it caused him to take a deep breath. Andy, like Jules and I, grew up in the paranoia that was the Valley. He knew the vetting required to allow anyone into our inner sanctum.
I saw the moment he realized how little he knew about Grady and his crew. He stopped looking at me and shifted his gaze to Grady.
"I suggest Major that you and I go on a short walk," Grady said. "My other request is to feed my men when dinner is ready." He struggled to stand up with his hand zip-tied behind him. Grady looked around at those assembled, most of whom now looked as confused as I did. "Everyone should eat, this was just a minor misunderstanding. All is well," he said.
Craig shifted around on the bench, letting Grady by, but keeping all weapons out of Grady's reach. I opened the door and indicated Grady proceed me toward my cabin.
Grady was cool as a cucumber. I appreciated him defusing the situation in the galley but still couldn't tell what he was up to.
When we entered my cabin, he asked, "Don't you think we can dispense with these now?" holding up his hands tied behind his back. "I've been on partial rations so long I worry little Kathleen could deck me now."
I snipped them off and sat across from him.
"My team left Fort Sill," he said. "On a recon mission."
"Is there still an Army?" I asked.
"Not really," Grady said, pushing a pillow behind him and leaning back. "A lot of soldiers deserted when the president announced the crisis, especially if they had family who needed them. The post commanders just let them go if they didn't take any important supplies or equipment with them. Most of those leaving took their own gear and a few rations. The commanders expected those guys to be back within a week. No one thought the CME would be this severe. Once it hit, the power went down, and then all communications stopped for the next two weeks. During that solar storm, all of our high-tech communications systems were useless. Once the static cleared and the high command realized the mess was global, that changed everything."
"How so?"
"All post or base commanders were told to do the best they could. Some commands were too small or too difficult to hold and disbanded. Ft. Sill was large enough; the commander thought it was worth keeping open. Most everyone in basic training or attending the artillery school left. Those with family on the post stayed there. A lot of retirees nearby, too. Not enough food stockpiled, or fuel either. They have a lot of acreage and Medicine Creek for water, so they may be viable long term. I'm told your family invested heavily in solar?"
"Yes, we have substantial solar capability," I answered.
"The commander at Ft. Sill really wishes his predecessors had done
something similar. All they had was electricity and natural gas. Not any help now, keeping people warm this winter still is quite challenging. Unlike here, Oklahoma doesn't have that many trees. Fort Sill is trying to make a go of it. Mostly they are circling the wagons and just keeping the non-military out of the post."
As interesting as this was, it didn't address my main question. "What was your squad doing?" I asked.
"Even though each commander is running his or her own show, someone is trying to get a picture of what is happening across the country. Some teams are traveling from one military establishment to another. They check in at the next post or base, and the report goes into some database. So far no one cares where you check in. We started out for Fort Benning but got sidetracked when we ran into Andy's group. Now it looks like we'll report our findings to Ft. Campbell instead," Grady said.
"Then what?"
"We can head out again or decide to stay there. We aren't really in the Army anymore. It is a lot rougher outside than I ever expected, and most civilians are sitting ducks."
"So, you were never planning to come to Breckinridge Valley?" I asked.
"When Andy invited us, we voted, and most of us were willing to try it out. I should have leveled with you this morning, so I can understand if you withdraw the offer," Grady said.
"I'm not rescinding any offer, yet. Something about your group didn't add up. Why the secrecy?"
"Orders. People are still waiting for the federal government to rescue them. Those who thought this mission up didn't want to give anyone false hope. You and I both know it is up to the people to pull themselves out of this mess. In our EMP planning, the military would stay out of sight and prepare for an invasion while the die off in the cities ran its course. A lot of our equipment is EMP hardened, but I don't think the planners really appreciated how quickly the lack of power changed everything."
"Sergeant, where did you see an EMP plan?"
"I'm no sergeant, but I'm not really a colonel anymore, either" Grady grinned, shrugging to show I had found him out, and he didn’t care. "Basically, I was redundant. I just happened to be too close to Fort Sill when I got the emergency recall. Orders told everybody to report to the nearest military facility. For me, that was Fort Sill. My squad was on temporary cross-training assignments at one of the Fort Sill schools. Everyone who came with me was at loose ends, not part of an established combat team.
“If I'd been in the chain of command at Ft. Sill, I'd probably still be serving. When I got the recall, I was on a month's leave between assignments, so I was serving no real function. If I'm going to spend the rest of my life somewhere, I sure as hell don't want to be in Oklahoma. Too hot, too dusty, and too dry. I'm a big fan of trees."
"Our part of Tennessee is mostly trees," I said.
"Is that an invite?" he asked.
"If your people confirm this, yes, it is an invite. I was worried you were from a military prison or something worse. Do we have to drop you off at Fort Campbell or can you check in by HAM radio?"
"I understood you picked up this boat from the Coast Guard station at Hickman, Kentucky? Is there a radio in Hickman?"
"Yes, we can call from there, unless someone has trashed the place in the last week."
"If I get us an invite to the post, are you interested?" Grady asked.
"Having contacts in Fort Campbell could be beneficial," I hedged. "I don't want to lose any of our gear or end up in some type of conflict with them." I was thinking of our M240b, various grenades, and NVGs.
"You are a mighty suspicious man," Grady said. "I bet you saw a lot on the road they would love to hear about. Especially about what you saw on the river. I doubt they know a lot about barges of grain, soybeans, and petroleum products."
"They might actually benefit by clearing a few bridges and transporting grain from the rivers to the post," I said. "They might even use the Cumberland and Jersey Girl to collect barges for offloading onto trucks."
"Good thought."
"I can communicate that by radio, though. Not sure it is worth it to deviate from the route we scouted on the way out," I said.
"If we are welcome in Breckinridge Valley, my squad and I might skip Fort Campbell and just call them from your place. Unless you need us to go in and persuade them to part with some supplies. What stuff do you need?" Grady asked.
"Radios, NVGs, and belt-fed ammo, either for an M249 or an M240b," I said immediately. I knew Zeke had parts on hand to eventually convert belt-fed machine guns to use non-disintegrating belts, but I'd like to postpone that for as long as possible.
Grady raised one eyebrow. "That is all you need?"
"I wouldn't turn down some grenades, claymores, C4, det cord, or blasting caps if they have any of that hanging around without an owner. We don't really need any of it, but I would never turn them down."
"You guys have state of the art plate carriers and suppressed M4s. Did you knock over an armory to get them?" Grady asked.
"No need, I bought most everything on the internet. Being the part owner in a gun store didn't hurt either. I just wished I bought more radios, I didn't realize how fragile they are," I said.
"Where do we go from here?" Grady asked.
"We are on our way to Hickman," I said. "You should settle on a cover story for Andy’s group, though I recommend the truth. If you shared that with Andy or Jules earlier, we could have avoided this showdown." I held up the cut zip ties to show him what I meant.
"Yeah, in hindsight, I should have told them," Grady confessed. "At first, I was still full of operational security, and later, it didn't matter."
"Your group seemed reliable, but my team was too weak to risk it. I also must be very careful about those invited into the Valley. You guys were an unknown and much too capable to invite in without better information. Why didn't you break out of the prepper compound?"
"At first Joe and Jamie were hurt bad. Several others had minor wounds. Without vehicles, this crew can't move very fast. Dwayne was sure his people would help, and when they let Andy phone home, I stood everyone down. You made a lot better time than I ever expected. Sending John was a mistake, he is really capable for his age, but one of my guys would have prevented getting Ben hurt," Grady said. "If we'd taken over that compound, we could have prevented your man from getting killed. I feel his death is on us."
"There are too many what-ifs in the whole mess. Razor getting killed was a one in a hundred deal. It hurts, but nothing we can do about it now. I couldn't even blame the kid who shot him," I said. We spent the next few minutes in our own hell. The what-ifs and second guesses weighed heavy. At that moment I saw both the officer and the man sitting in front of me. A shared moment carrying the burden of command. I hoped he would settle in our Valley.
"Tom, you have any intel?" I radioed.
"What is your 20?"
"My cabin," I radioed.
"Be there in a sec."
Tom rapped once and stepped inside my cabin.
I spoke first, so he didn't reveal anything he learned. "Says he is a colonel with a team out of Fort Sill doing recon. They've been with Andy's crew since Oklahoma and were on their way to the Valley but may stop off at Fort Campbell to relay their intel."
Tom leaned back against my door, studying the colonel.
"Is that the basics of what you learned?" I asked.
"Yeah, nobody said he was an officer, but everyone agreed he was in charge. They are pretty pissed off at us for taking them down," Tom said. "Pretty vague about their future plans but being out of Fort Sill is pretty consistent with what I learned. I'm not very worried about them, I'm more concerned someone else in Andy's crew will do something dumb."
I turned to Grady and said, "Let me talk with Tom a moment, and I'll be right back."
Tom opened the door. We both stepped into the corridor, leaving Grady settling back on the bunk.
"Do you trust them?" I asked.
"They are still disciplined, following the chain of command. They aren't bad gu
ys, but they will follow orders. If Grady tells them to stand down, we are good. If he tells them to shoot us in the back, not sure they would without an argument. But they have a lot of respect for Grady. Good solid experienced combat soldiers. Been on several tours of the sandbox. Not quite up to Ranger standards but solid shooters."
"Grady seems like the real deal. They could have abandoned Andy's crew whenever they wanted to. His team is well disciplined and willing to help the civilians out. It will take time working with them to confirm they have the character we want for Force Beta, but I'm impressed so far," I said. "Bring his team up to the top of the second deck on the Cumberland, I'll have Grady talk with them before we release them."
"You might want to include Jules or Andy in that meeting," Tom suggested.
"Bring them both to my cabin, it will be better to hash this out with as few witnesses as possible," I said.
